Method and apparatus for forming a wrapping or void fill packaging product

ABSTRACT

A packaging product is produced by preconditioning sheet material, as for example, by pleating. The preconditioned sheet material is wound on a roll and transported to a production site at which the preconditioned sheet material is processed to form a multi-layer product. The preconditioned sheet material and at least one outer layer material are provided with a cohesive that bonds the preconditioned sheet material to the outer layer sheet or sheets, subsequent to the pleating of the preconditioned sheet material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent applications, serial number 60/292,593, filed May 22, 2001, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference, as though recited in full.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates to the method and apparatus for the production of a packaging material. More particularly, the invention relates to a system for producing a pre-product and a system for converting the pre-product into a final packaging material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Various packaging products have been designed for manufacture or final processing at a customer's site. However, the combination of the equipment, the manufacture process and the resultant product have had shortcomings due to factors such as, high equipment cost, equipment reliability, poor performance of the resultant packaging product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004]FIG. 1 is a schematic end view illustration of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

[0005]FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

[0006]FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the re-pleating section of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

[0007]FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side view of the re-pleating section of the apparatus of FIG. 1, further illustrating the re-pleating process.

[0008]FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a non-pleated layer having cohesive stripes.

[0009]FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a gluing operation.

[0010]FIG. 7 is a plan view of a section of a non-pleated layer having cohesive stripes.

[0011]FIG. 8 is an end view of the sheet of FIG. 7.

[0012]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a pleated sheet.

[0013]FIG. 10 is an end view of the sheet of FIG. 8, showing cohesive bonding material on the apices of pleats.

[0014]FIG. 11 is an end view of a three layer composite having non-pleated outer layers, a pleated inner layer, and cohesive bonding the three layers together.

[0015]FIG. 12 is and end view of two layers of flattened, pleated material as they would be brought into contact during the process of rewinding the pleated material onto a roll.

[0016]FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of the process of applying outer layers to the pleated layer.

[0017]FIG. 14 is a schematic end view illustration of a flattened pleated layer being unwound from a roll, and showing a release layer.

[0018]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a pleated layer illustrating the angles of the apices.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The instant invention is the combination of a customer onsite machine and modified paper that provides paper-packaging in varying widths and profiles to provide cushioning, wrapping and void-fill for inner packaging of shippable items. The ultimate product is a pleated paper product having a pleated inner layer and at least one outer layer of a flat sheet. Advantageously, the outer sheet can be a low grade paper such as tissue paper, or a combination of two outer sheets of tissue paper, or the combination of an outer sheet of tissue paper and kraft paper or other high durability sheet material. The flat rolls of paper supplied to the machinery has been pre-conditioned to pleat and adhere to the separate layers making up the packaging material. The preconditioning can be a scoring, perforation, creasing, embossing, or pleating operation, or any combination thereof. The precondition can thus be any operation that reproducibly produces pleating along predetermined lines. It is essential that sheet material, paper or otherwise, be processed to be predisposed to form pleat apices along predetermined Pre-pleating provides for the most reliable pretreatment step.

[0020] The rolls of pre-conditioned product are a commercial product that can be sold to customers that have equipment for processing the pre-conditioned product into a multi-layer, multi-component product. The final assembly machinery converts the flat rolls by collecting the pre-scored paper into pleats and then combining the top and bottom sheets to the pleated layer. The three layers automatically stick together by the cohesive (self adhering adhesive that only sticks to itself) that has been preapplied to the paper prior the shipment to the customer. This flat paper concept requires very little storage space prior to use. The result is a highly effective cushioning and void-fill product dispensed with user friendly machinery, while using a small amount of warehouse storage space, as compared to the volume of space required for the finished pleated product.

Multi-layer Product

[0021] The packaging material of the instant invention is comprised of at least two layers, and advantageously, three layers. The middle layer is the pleated paper. The top and bottom sheet is glued to the pleated layer to make up wrapping material. All three layers are coated with cohesive prior to shipment so that when the onsite customer machinery places them together they automatically stick together. While a single flat layer can be adhered to the pleated layer, the three layer “sandwich” is preferred.

[0022] Two steps are required prior to shipping the paper to the customer. The first step is to pleat the paper and apply the cohesive to the peaks of the pleats. The pleats need to be coated on both sides of the paper so that the top and bottom papers can adhere properly. In order to do this and be able to rewind the paper flat the upper coating needs to be offset relative to the lower coating. Otherwise the pleated paper would stick to itself as it was rewound. Then the pleated paper is flattened out and re-rolled into approximately 30-40 pound sizes that are easily loaded onto the customer onsite machinery. The coating of only the peaks with the narrow bands of cohesive minimizes the amount of adhesive used, and facilitates the separation of adhesive of opposite sides of the paper, when the pre-pleated paper is rewound onto a roll and alternate sides are in contact with each other.

[0023] The second step requires the top and bottom layers to be coated in ½ inch to 2″ stripes with the cohesive in the direction of the manufacturing process. The paper is then rewound into 30-40 pound rolls. It should be noted that the adhesive can be applied to the apices of the pleated paper in a substantially continuous strip, if while the pleated material is tightly packed, but when the pleated sheet is relaxed, the cohesive material will not be in a continuous strip or stripe, but rather will be retained on the peaks or apices of the pleats. For convenience, the cohesive on the pleats will be referred to as being in strips or stripes, even thought once relaxed, the strip or stripe would be discontinuous. It is noted that cohesive bonding materials can be relatively high in cost and therefore the amount of cohesive used is kept to a minimum. For this reason, the non-pleated layers employ stripes of cohesive, in a continuous or discontinuous pattern, rather than a full coating of cohesive on the entire surface. The use of more than the minimum amount of material is generally only an economic concern. From an aesthetic standpoint, the use of a minimum amount of adhesive provides great decorative advantages due to the appearance produced by limited bonding of non-pleated layer to pleated layer.

[0024] The top and bottom layers can be made slightly larger than the pleated layer so that it can be folded over to hide the edge of the pleated paper. If the folding over method were desired the top sheet would have to be coated with cohesive on its topside so that when it is folded over the cohesive will be exposed to adhere to the cohesive from the bottom side. For the larger pleat sizes this could inhibit the rough edges of the pleats. Instead of folding the paper could be pressed together on the sides leaving a single edge to the wrapping product.

[0025] The approximate sizes for the wrapping product can be in any desired widths, with the range from 9″ to 36″ being preferred width, with the final selection being depending upon the packaging application. The machinery can produce varying pleat heights, ranging from an extreme of {fraction (1/16)}, to {fraction (2/16)}″, {fraction (3/16)}″, ½″, ¾″, and up to 1″ pleat heights. The machinery can readily be designed to produce pleat heights up to 4″ pleats.

Design Machinery For Forming Multi-layer Composite Pleated Product

[0026] The system that is employed at the customer's site, starts with the re-pleating of previously pleated or preconditioned paper. Since the paper has been already pleated or preconditioned, only the collector portion of a pleater assembly is needed to pleat the paper and produce a multi-layer product. This portion of the machinery is very common in the pleating machinery industry. It is comprised of two stainless steel plates, called the collector plates that are fitting longitudinally to accept the pre-pleated paper. These collector plates are set at a spaced apart distance equal to the pleat height of the pre-pleated paper. The height of the pleat approaches the distance between adjacent creases, as the apex angle of the pleat decreases. The assembly unit indicated generally as 100 is carried on a stand 110, as shown in FIG. 1. The stand also supports the three paper rolls 108, 106 and 104. The leading edges of all three layers are fed into the pleating machinery. Rolls 104 and 108 can be identical product with one roll 104 mounted for counter clockwise unrolling and roll 108 mounted for clockwise unwinding. Roll 106 is the preconditioned layer.

[0027] The main elements of the re-pleating equipment are the collector plates 210 and 212, within the pleating housing, 102. At least one plate is adjustable. That is, the space between the plates is adjusted to produce a particular size of pleated product. The re-pleating assembly can be in accordance with known collector plate designs. The collector plate accepts the pre-pleated paper to remake the pleats. It should be understood that the reference to “pre-pleated paper” is for convenience only, and the disclosure is applicable to pre-conditioned paper.

[0028] The top layer 208 is fed to a powered roller 308 that is pressing against the upper portion of the collector plate 210, while the bottom layer 204 is feed using a lower powered roller pressing against the collector plate 212 that guides both layers, 206 and 204 to the secondary powered roller 310, as shown as shown in FIG. 4. The center roll 206, the pre-pleated paper, is fed directly into the collector plates using a single powered roller 306 that presses against the collector plate extension as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For simplicity, the two outer sheets can be identical, in which case, one is fed clock wise and one is feed counter clockwise, so that the co-adhesive in each case is brought into contact with co-adhesive of the pleated paper. It should be understood that the process can also be used to produce a two layered product, that is, a single faced pleated product.

[0029] The pleats are created by the inner workings of the collector plates that have the following design. The upper plate 210 has a thin layer of stainless 307 that is bowed downward and is adjustable by spring tension 304, as shown in FIG. 3. On the lower collector plate 212, a slotted area is made to accommodate a spring-loaded lip 302, that that protrudes upward approximately ¼″ as shown in FIG. 3. As the pre-pleated paper passes through the single powered roller it becomes blocked by the lip, which causes backpressure against the incoming pre-pleated paper. This backpressure initiates the pleating process. As the paper moves forward the upper spring loaded thin layer of metal 306 applies a downward pressure to work in concert with the accumulating backpressure to form a full and upright pleat. As the pleats build into the correct shape the upward pressure forces the upper thin plate to lie flat against the upper collector plate and forces the lip to drop downward as shown in FIG. 4. Both of these actions make room for the pleats to pass towards the out-feed side of the machine as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0030] The pleats finally are standing perpendicular or near perpendicular, creating a block of pleats that is pushed forward to the out-feed section. As the pleats pass through the collector plates they relax and form open-type pleats 314, as shown in FIG. 4. The optimum pleat angle varies depending upon the crush strength of the wrap desired and the desired volume of packaging material created in relation to the paper used. The optimum for cushioning is in the range from 50 to 70 degrees with 60 degrees forming an equilateral triangle. Higher than 70 degrees (that is, less than 50 degrees for the apex angle 1502) forms a more structurally rigid product for heavier load while less than 50 degrees (that is, greater than 70 degrees for the apex angle) provides soft cushioning for lighter products. The range for the apex angle is from at least 30 to about 70 degrees, with a preferred range of about 45 to about 60 degrees, to provide optimum performance characteristics.

[0031] The varying of paperweights, as explained in the prior art of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,667,871 and 5,688,578 of David Goodrich filed in 1997, will also vary the strength vs. cushioning end product desires. FIG. 4 shows the crush and cutting mechanism 312, that severs the wrapping product into the desired length. The user will be able to set the length and, if desired, program the system to produce the number of sheets at the desired length, using the digital controls or manually.

The Cohesive Pattern

[0032] The pattern for the cohesive must be such that the cohesive material of the pleated paper comes into contact with the cohesive of the outer layer or layers, during the step of applying the outer layer or layers to the pleated paper. In a two outer layers system, the pattern on the preconditioned paper must be such that the pre-conditioned material has cohesive bonding material on both sides of said sheet, with the cohesive material being applied at the apices forming lines of the preconditioned sheet. The must be a first pattern on one side and in an offset pattern on the other side, such that two adjacent layers of preconditioned sheets, when wound in a roll, do not have cohesive bonding material containing regions of one side in contact with cohesive bonding material containing regions of the other side.

[0033] In a two layer system, the preconditioned material has cohesive bonding material on one side of the sheet, with the cohesive material being applied at the apices forming lines. The pattern on the non-pleating sheet, can be in any pattern that intersects the pattern on the pre-conditioned material. Lines, dashes, circles, squares, rectangles, or any other pattern can be used. The selection can be modified to accommodate cost containment requirements, product alignment requirements, required bonding strengths, or other conditions that become apparent.

[0034] A sheet of pre-pleated or pre-conditioned paper 902, having cohesive layers on both surfaces, is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. The cohesive bonding material can be applied, as illustrated in FIG. 6, by means of glue roller 608, spraying equipment, or other means as well know in the art. By contacting only the peaks or apices 602 and 604, the cohesive is limited to the apices. The width of the stripes of cohesive can be adjusted to accommodate the width of the product, the required adhesion strength, or other factors.

[0035]FIG. 5 illustrates cohesive stripes 502 applied to an outer layer forming sheet 208. Preferably, the stripes can be discontinuous as illustrated in FIG. 5, or advantageously, as illustrated in FIG. 7, can run the full length of outer layer forming sheet 702. Where the multi-layer pleated product is to be used as an envelope, the width of one or both of the outer layer sheets can be wider than the preconditioned sheet 1000. For this application, as shown in FIG. 11, an outer layer forming sheet 1102 extends beyond the width of the pleated layer 1000 and the non-pleated layer 702. The layers 702, 1000, and 1102 are cohesively bonded together. When the multi-layer sheet is folded over to form a package or envelope, the layer 1102 forms the final package outer layer and the cohesive stripes 1104 and 1108 self bond, forming a sealed package or envelope. If the fold is off center, there will be a resultant flap that can be used to close the package or envelope. Sealing of the flap can be in accordance with the technology as well known in the art.

[0036]FIG. 8 shows the pleated sheet 702 and FIG. 10 is the corresponding end view, showing the cohesive stripes or patches, 1003, 1005, 1007 and 1008 on one side and 1002 and 1004, on the obverse side. Any desired width or number of stripes can be used. It is noted that the patches 1003, 1005, 1007 and 1008 are offset from the patches 1002 and 1004, such that the face side and obverse side patches are out of contact, that is, offset, when the sheet 1000 is rolled and opposite faces are in contact, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0037]FIG. 14 illustrates an alternate embodiment in which a preconditioned sheet 1410 has patches of cohesive 1408 on each side of the sheet. The patches can be continuous stripes and need not be in any special, offset pattern, due to the use of a separator sheet 1402 of release material. The release sheet 1402 prevents cohesive to cohesive contact when the sheet 1410 is in roll form 1406. The sheet adds extra cost, but can be used, if desired.

[0038]FIG. 15 shows the apex angle 1502 and the angle of offset 1500, from the plane of the paper.

The System

[0039] The system comprises the step of forming a pleated paper, applying a cohesive to the peaks of the pleats, on one or both sides of the paper and then rewinding the pleated paper into flat sheets on a roll. A top layer or a top and bottom layer is provided with narrow stripes of cohesive in the machine direction, that is, transverse to the pleated paper cohesive. The flattened pre-pleated paper is re-pleated and adhered to a top sheet or a top and bottom sheet to product the pleated packing material. FIG. 13 illustrates the reverse direction unrolling of the two outer sheets. The number of pleats per unit of length is a main factor is determining the performance of the product.

[0040] Finally the customer utilizes the product either for wrapping or void-fill by placing it into the box or wrapping it around an object. 

What is claimed is: 1- The method of producing a packaging product, comprising the steps of: a—at a first location, feeding a sheet of a first material from a roll, in a first direction, to a scoring station, b—scoring a continuous sheet of said first material to form a continuous sheet of material having a series of parallel score lines, said parallel score lines being transverse to said first direction, c—after said scoring, rewinding said continuous sheet of said first material onto a roll, to form a roll of scored sheet material, d—transporting said roll of scored sheet of said first material to a second location, e—feeding said roll of said scored sheet of said first material to a pleating station, f—pleating said roll of scored sheet of said first material at said pleating station, g—severing a section of pleated sheet of said first sheet material from said roll of scored sheet of said first material, h—protective wrapping an object with at least one severed section of pleated sheet of said first material. 2- The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: i—prior to step (c), pleating said continuous sheet of first material having a series of parallel score lines and, applying a cohesive to the apices of pleats on at least one side of said first material, j—feeding a sheet of a second material from a roll, in a first direction, to a gluing station, applying cohesive to a surface of said second material, k—rewinding said continuous sheet of said second material onto a roll, to form a roll of said second sheet material having cohesive applied to a first surface, l—transporting said roll of cohesive applied roll of said second material to said second location, m—feeding said roll of cohesive applied roll of said second material to said pleating station, n—between steps (f) and (g) contacting said second sheet material first surface with the apices of the pleats formed on said roll of scored sheet of said first material at said pleating station, and o—forming an adhesive bonded composite having a layer of pleated sheet material and a layer of said second material. 3- The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of: feeding a sheet of a third material from a roll, in a first direction, to a gluing station, applying cohesive to a surface of said third material, rewinding said continuous sheet of said second material onto a roll, to form a roll of said third sheet material having cohesive applied to a first surface, transporting said roll of glue applied roll of said third material to said second location, feeding said roll of glue applied roll of said third material to said pleating station, between steps (f) and (g) contacting said third sheet material first surface with the apices of the pleats formed on said roll of scored sheet of said first material at said pleating station, and forming an adhesive bonded composite having a layer of pleated sheet material and a layer of said second material on one side and a layer of said third material on the opposite side. 4- The method of claim 3, where said first material is a kraft paper and said second and said third materials are tissue paper. 5- The method of claim 2, where said steps of applying a cohesive to the apices of pleats on at least one side of said first material, and to a surface of said second material, comprises applying stripes of cohesive to the apices of pleats on both sides of said first material, transverse to the edges of said first material, and said step of applying cohesive to a surface of said second material, comprises applying stripes of cohesive to a surface of said second material, transverse to the edges of said second material. 6- The method of claim 3, where said steps of applying a cohesive to the apices of pleats on at least one side of said first material, and to a surface of said second material, comprises applying stripes of cohesive to the apices of pleats on both sides of said first material, transverse to the edges of said first material, said step of applying cohesive to a surface of said second material, comprises applying stripes of cohesive to a surface of said second material, transverse to the edges of said second material, and said step of applying cohesive to a surface of said third material, comprises applying stripes of cohesive to a surface of said third material, transverse to the edges of said second material. 7- The method of claim 6, wherein a—said stripes of cohesive on each side of first material is spaced such that the cohesive on one side of said first material is out of contact with the cohesive on the other side of said first material, when said first material is wound up on a roll after having cohesive applied to both sides, b—said stripes of cohesive on a surface of said second material is spaced such that the cohesive on one side of said first material is in contact with the cohesive on one side of said second material, and c—said stripes of cohesive on a surface of said third material is spaced such that the cohesive on the other side of said first material is in contact with the cohesive on one side of said third material. 8- The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to step (c), pleating said continuous sheet of first material having a series of parallel score lines. 9- A pleated product comprising an inner layer of pleated material and at least one outer layer of non-pleated material, said pleated material being bonded to said at least one outer layer of non-pleated material by a cohesive bonding material, said cohesive material being at the apices of said pleated layer in a first pattern on one side and in an offset pattern on the other side, such that two adjacent layers of preconditioned sheets, when wound in a roll, do not have cohesive bonding regions of said one side in contact with cohesive bonding regions of said other side. 10- The pleated product of claim 9, wherein said pleated material is kraft paper. 11- The pleated product of claim 9, wherein said at least one outer layer of non-pleated material is tissue paper. 12- The pleated product of claim 11, where said pleated material is kraft paper. 13- The pleated product of claim 12, wherein said at least one outer layer is two outer layers of tissue paper. 14- The pleated product of claim 13, wherein said kraft paper is in the range from about 30 to 50 pound paper and said tissue paper is less than 25 pound paper. 15- A roll of pre-conditioned, pleat forming product comprising: a sheet of pre-conditioned material in the form of a continuous roll of a flattened sheet, said pre-conditioned material being processed to be predisposed to form pleat apices along predetermined lines, said pre-conditioned material having cohesive bonding material on both sides of said sheet, said cohesive material being applied at the apices forming lines of said preconditioned sheet in a first pattern on one side and in an offset pattern on the other side, such that two adjacent layers of preconditioned sheets, when wound in a roll, do not have cohesive bonding material containing regions of one side in contact with cohesive bonding material containing regions of said other side. 16- The roll product of claim 15, wherein said pre-conditioned, pleat forming material is pre-pleated kraft paper. 17- The roll product of claim 16, wherein said kraft paper is in the range from about 30 to 50 pound paper. 18- A roll of pre-conditioned, pleat forming product comprising: a sheet of pre-conditioned material in the form of a continuous roll of a flattened sheet, said pre-conditioned material being processed to be predisposed to form pleat apices along predetermined lines, said pre-conditioned material having cohesive bonding material on each side of said sheet, said cohesive material being applied at the apices forming lines of said preconditioned sheet, and a release layer interleaved with said pre-conditioned material to maintain cohesive material out of contact with cohesive material of adjacent layers of said sheet in said continuous roll. 19- The pleated product of claim 9, wherein the apex angle of the pleats is in the range from at least 30 up to about 70 degrees. 20- The pleated product of claim 19, wherein the apex angle of the pleats is in the range from about 45 degrees to about 60 degrees. 